


Kingdom Come

by Boxcarprince



Category: Achievement Hunter, Roosterteeth - Fandom
Genre: Gen, M/M, Zombie AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-01-10 10:58:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1158868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boxcarprince/pseuds/Boxcarprince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the apocalypse begins, Gavin finds himself alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> just a little achievement hunter apocalypse au. this is actually my first ah/rt fanfic and its pretty awful but yeah thanks if you actually read it. the title/story itself is kinda based off of the song “Kingdom Come” by The Civil Wars. also if theres anything that needs editing pleasepleaseplease tell me  
> (probably wont get updated that frequently cause I take foreveeeer to write stuff)
> 
> (also I know Gavin's brother is named Johnny but: 1) I am too lazy to change it from George. 2) George sounds better in this story if I'm honest. 3) I'm not sure why Gavin says his brother's name is George, but assuming it's not because he likes to mess with the audience, I'm going to guess he doesn't want to his brother's name floating around too much.)

The buildings loomed overhead. Sun glinted off smashed windows. Broken neon signs shined on and off, their dull glow lighting up parts of the darkened street. Fallen billboards lay on smashed cars. A single boy stood atop of a car, a backpack hanging off of one shoulder, a baseball bat in his hand.

Gavin had lived in this city for almost all of his fourteen years. He’d gone off exploring with friends before, getting lost multiple times. So many times had he just walked around by himself, enjoying the murmurs from the crowds of people he passed, the smell from various food stands, the quiet singing of a man with a guitar. Never before had he felt the need for company; he’d always been perfectly fine with being by himself.

And yet, standing there on the car, overlooking the abandoned city, Gavin felt alone. He wanted his father, his mom, his brother, anyone. The scene in front of him felt too overwhelming, too wrong. Cars were trashed along the road, most of which were on fire. Shops, broken into, were left practically empty. And, worst of all, it was dead silent.

There was not a single other person along the road besides himself and the bodies that lay scattered across the roads and sidewalks. Gavin was appalled at just how much had gone wrong in such a short matter of time. He was barely even aware of how it all started - He remembered hearing something on the radio a few weeks before, about how there was a “minor virus” going around, one that had yet to be named. It was advised for everyone to stay indoors, because they had not known the intensity of the sickness yet. So the Free family had done just that, stayed cooped up inside their little apartment day after day. Except, like others, they hadn’t been prepared for it, and so supplies just got lower and lower each day. Eventually, his father had ignored the message that had been replayed for the fifth in a row, insisting that he needed go to the store.

After six days of waiting for him, Gavin’s mother couldn’t take it. She told her two sons that she was going to get more food for them, some blankets for the winter maybe, but both boys knew what she was really after.

And it was the same with her as it was for their father. They waited, as patient as possible, before coming to the conclusion that they had to do something.

“Okay, Gav.” His brother had began after the fourth day their mother had been gone. “Something is…wrong. They wouldn’t just leave us, but I don’t think that they are coming back, and we’re going to starve if we don’t get food soon. We’re on our last few cans.” He paused and looked his brother in the eyes before saying in an almost whisper, “But I don’t want you to get hurt eithe-”

“You are not leaving without me!” Gavin had interrupted in a contained shout. “I don’t want you to leave, too. I don’t want to be left alone.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to come back. I’m just going to go check around the building, yeah? I’m not going to step a foot outside.”

“Then I’m coming with you, end of conversation.” Gavin got up from where they sat at the kitchen table and hurried away. He came back moments later with a baseball bat in his hands. His brother looked at him, trying to be angry, but a small smile appeared on his face before he went to scavenge the kitchen for some sort of knife.

They left a few minutes after, quietly opening the door and exiting the room. They had decided on which rooms to check first - People that they knew, who would help them find their parents. The first apartment they knocked on was just a few down from their own, but there seemed to be no one inside. On the way to the next stop, they passed multiple open doors, all of which were left hanging on their hinges, with deep scratch marks in the wood. They had went in the first few, but after finding nothing that would help them, they stopped checking.

They reached Gavin’s friend’s door, and gently rapped it. Gavin noticed more large marks, similar to the scratches from before, but remained quiet. He was getting more and more scared, because each room they passed was dark and empty.

When the door opened, they were not greeted by his friend, nor were they greeted by his parents. No, when the door flew open, there was no one on the other side.

“‘Kay, Gav, we’re going to do this a bit faster. You check the kitchen, I’ll look through the other rooms. Make sure that there is actually no one here.”

The entered the room, weapons held tightly, and then split up.

***

Gavin hadn’t found much besides a few boxes of cereal and a bag of bread. He had those tucked underneath his arm as he scavenged through the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen. He decided that he got all that he could and instead turned to leave and find his brother.

“George?” He called out carefully. No reply came. He repeated the name multiple times, before quietly saying, “Please don’t mess with me right now, George. I…I’m scared.” Gavin, however, knowing that his brother was not one to trick anyone, began to look through more rooms.

He had entered the living room. He checked all around for another person, and when he saw none, was about to move on. But a loud, very familiar scream echoed through the walls, freezing Gavin on the spot.

***

“George!” Gavin shouted in panic. Before he knew what he was doing, he started running through the apartment, following the source of the scream. He checked each room, yelling his brother’s name over and over again, before stopping in the doorway of his friend’s room.

There, inside of the room, laying on the floor, was his brother. And there, crouching on top of him, was his friend’s father. Relief flooded Gavin. Maybe, he thought, he can help us.

But then Gavin noticed the pool of blood underneath the two.

“Uh…?” He said softly. At the noise, the man’s head whipped around, and it only took a glance for Gavin to regret talking, to regret leaving his apartment altogether.

Red eyes, rotten skin, a broken jaw. Gavin’s eyes widened, and in a moment of panic, he pulled the baseball bat out of where he had it hooked on his belt loop. Instead of hearing the familiar voice of his friend’s father telling him to put the bat down, a growl came out of the twisted mouth, and the decaying body flung itself at Gavin.

He had no time to react - two bloody claws slashed through the air, one hitting the bat uselessly, the other scoring Gavin’s wrist. As pain flooded through him, his grip on the bat tightened. He raised his arms in the air, and, with all of the force he could muster, brought the piece of metal down on top of the decomposing head.

It was flung backwards from the hit, but quickly lounged itself back at Gavin. He was more prepared this time, however, and blocked the attack with another hit, this time on the shoulder. The body was flung to the ground. Before it had a chance to get back up, Gavin brought the bat down on it again, and again, and again. Even after it stopped twitching, he smashed the corpse until his adrenaline had been all used up.

When he finally finished, he dropped the bat. It took him a minute to register what he’d done, but when he had, he started to panic once more.

“Oh my God, George, did I just kill his dad?” He asked aloud. When he received no reply, he glanced over to where he had seen his brother.

And there his brother was, stomach torn open, shirt covered in blood, various entrails scattered across the floor next to him. Gavin, upon spotting the scene, felt his heart stop. Before he even completely registered the sight, he dropped to his knees. When the fact that his brother was dead finally did sink in, his mind seemed to turn off. He noticed the tears dripping down his cheeks, but did nothing to brush them away. For what was probably hours, he sat there. Each time he looked up at his brother’s corpse, a new wave of tears poured out of his eyes. And when he was finally dried of all tears, he stayed where he was, because once the heart-wrenching sorrow had disappeared, fear took it’s place. Gavin didn’t know what had happened to his friend’s father; was that the virus that was supposedly minor? Was that why his parents never returned? Had they turned into one of those things? Or, even worse, were they lying dead in the corner just as George was?

Gavin, unsure of what to do, went to retrieve his bat. He picked up the backpack that was lying on the foot of the bed, as well, and then turned to leave the room. He whispered a quiet goodbye to his brother, and then left.


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gonna have to apologize for both the length and time taken to post this. I was pretty busy over the week so I didnt have much time to work on it, and I really just wanted to get it out, hence how short it is. but yeah hopefully the next chapter will be more exciting/longer so yeah.

It was four days, six hours, and nine minutes since Gavin had been left by himself. After spending two of those days mourning, hiding back at his apartment, he felt prepared enough to leave. The third day was spent scavenging the rest of his floor; with his baseball bat in hand, he felt nearly invincible. Even so, he encountered no one. When the fourth day arrived, Gavin decided his pack felt full enough. He knew he could only stay locked up in his apartment for so long. He was also smart enough to know that his best bet at figuring out what was happening was to find others. Others who weren’t infected.

Down the stairwell the boy went, sixth floors worth of walking. He was hoping to find a weapon better than his baseball bat - a fire axe would be perfect, he thought. Unfortunately, the only one he knew of had already been taken, and so, upon reaching the first floor, he held the piece of metal ready before pushing open the door.

The lobby that claimed the whole first floor was, in previous cases, breathtaking. Shiny wooden tables, big flat screen televisions, fancy couches. There was even a small convenience store off to the side. Yet, as Gavin looked around the open room, he could hardly remember it ever looking like that. The couches were torn and flipped over, the screens of the televisions smashed. Pots that once held plants were shattered across the floor, dirt sprayed everywhere. The scene had entranced him enough that, after hearing a groan similar to the one he had heard when he last saw his brother, he flung his bat wildly before realizing that he was under no danger. He spotted the infected person quickly, trapped underneath a large table. Although it was clawing and growling ferociously, it was obvious that it could not get out, and so Gavin chose to turn his attention away from it. Instead, he quickly scouted the lobby, softly calling out a hello? every few steps.

When he was certain there was nothing and no one to be found, Gavin stepped through the ruined glass doors that led outside. The temperature dropped as soon as he left the warmth of the building, and he zipped up his sweatshirt before heading onward. 

The city itself was in worse condition than his apartment building had been. Cars were crashed into various buildings, a few fires spreading across them. Streetlights were toppled, and nearly every window was shattered. Gavin, who was expecting to be completely distraught by the sight, found himself almost indifferent. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if it were all a dream, that nothing that had happened in the past few weeks was real. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his messy hair, then started down the street. At first, he tried to stay on the sidewalk, but after a while, he realized how useless that was, and ventured onto the road. He tried looking into a few shops and restaurants for more supplies, but found nothing he could use. 

While at first Gavin was unsure of where he was going, he noticed that his feet were following his almost daily walk to school. Instead of changing his direction, he figured that the school was as good a place as any, and continued down his path. He cut through multiple alleys, followed the road for a few minutes, and then he saw the large building. It, surprisingly, looked relatively undamaged, compared to the rest of the city. The grass surrounding it looked dead, however, and as Gavin stepped closer, he could see boards covering the insides of the windows. He reached the door and attempted to pull it open, but it was obvious that it was covered as well. 

Being unable to get inside of his school left him unsure of what to do next. He scouted the front of the school, tried opening the door multiple more times, before sitting down in front of the door. He slid off his back, unzipping it and pulling out two granola bars. He opened one, scarfed it down almost immediately, but before he went on to the other, he silently reminded himself that he may not see food very often. With that thought, he placed the second bar back into the front pouch of the bag and stayed where he sat. He was doing his best to keep him mind turned off, because if he didn’t, he would be engulfed in fear, confusion, and sadness. And so there he sat, eyes shut, and for just a moment, he pretended that it was an average day at school, that it was just passing period and in a few minutes he would go back in for fifth period. It was a relieving fantasy, and so he kept it going, reliving almost a whole day at school. 

Almost.

A loud snarl brought him out of his head. He thought it was a dog at first, but then he saw the body lumbering towards him, one arm outstretched, the other missing altogether. The one that was extended towards him was tipped with large, glistening fingernails that looked more like claws than anything else. He flinched, taking a few steps back, but quickly threw down the wrapper of his granola bar, tossed the backpack over his shoulder, and pulled out his bat, which had been resting in his belt loop. The thing was at the bottom of the steps, and seemed to be having trouble walking up them, so Gavin carefully stepped down to it’s level and swung his bat at the body of the creature with as much strength as he could muster. With the force he had hit it, he expected the thing to go flying; so, when it barely even flinched, Gavin was caught off guard. It had advanced up to him and he tried to swing again, but before the bat connected with the head again, four bloody claws raked his stomach.

The pain came instantly, ten time worse than the small scratch the last one had given him. It made the boy cry out in pain and collapse onto his knees, clutching his abdomen tightly. His head was dizzy, and for a second, he felt as if he was going to pass out. However, in the back of his mind, in the place that hadn’t shut down from the pain, he knew that the infected would kill him if he didn’t react soon. So, instead of waiting for gnashing teeth to sink into his skin, or for the claws to rip him apart, Gavin used the rest of his energy to swing the bat. 

The metal hit the head of the creature, and before the boy was able to look up to see if any damage had been dealt, he heard the plop of something heavy landed next to him. When he opened his eyes and looked to see what it was, all he saw the face of the beast he had just slain staring back at him. The body collapsed moments later, and all Gavin could do was stare in shock. 

He recovered quickly, for the pain of his stomach appeared again. He was aware that he would bleed out if he didn’t cover his wound soon, so, even though it was Winter and somehow two degrees away from snowing, he unzipped himself from his sweatshirt and tore off a piece of the royal blue cloth. He carefully wrapped it around the four gashes, and although it was crudely done, Gavin figured it would work until he could find some actual bandages. 

He had planned to stay at the door of the school for the night (which, when brought back into realization, was only an hour away at most), but after the attack, he realized it was honestly an awful spot to stay. And so, even though it made his whole body erupt in pain, he made his way down the steps. He followed the school path back to the road, and then began trekking down it once more. 

After a few minutes of walking by buildings with broken windows and missing doors, he felt prepared to just fall over and just sleep where he was. Instead, he decided to cut through a few alleys in hope that a different street would have homes in better condition. He turned into the path between two smaller buildings, but only made it five steps before hearing what sounded like footsteps. Immediately, he was wielding his bat, which was beginning to dent. He held it with both hands, and turned in a circle, preparing to swing it at the creature that was sure to appear in front of him.

However, he found no infected. Instead, he heard a click, and felt the muzzle of a gun press up against the back of his head.


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, it looks like I lied. at this pace, I'm probably never going to end up finishing this. I'll do better, seriously.

Gavin froze.

A gun was obviously something he wasn’t too familiar with, - he definitely had never seen a real one before - but he was positive that his brains might be scattered all over the ground at any second. Instead, however, a voice spoke up.

“Put your fucking bat down.”

Gavin obliged, dropping the bat immediately. It banged against the cement underneath them, echoing through the walls of the alley. He felt the person behind him tense up, and the gun moved against his hair as a bit as the guy looked around. Gavin tried to whisper sorry, but nothing came out.

“Idiot.” The word came out as a growl, making Gavin flinch. “Okay, now who the fuck are you?” 

Gavin tried to speak, but it came out more stuttered than he meant it to. He assumed it was because of how long he had gone without using his voice. “I’m Gavin. Gavin Free. 

“Yeah? How old are you? You look twelve.”

“I’m fourteen,” He replied simply. He would’ve gotten angry at the remark that was made, but he dared not move a muscle until the gun was put away. 

He felt the weight pushed against his head lessen a bit as the other person spoke. “Really? I wasn’t even serious, dude, you look like you’d be older than me. Tall as fuck.” The harshness that had been in his voice before disappeared almost instantly, and he seemed to be joking a bit now. Still, the gun remained, so Gavin guessed he still wasn’t trusted. “How have you even managed to stay alive this long?”

“I, uh - with my bat. And my family. At least... for the most of it.” Gavin’s voice cracked as he spoke the last sentence. He hoped it wasn’t noticeable.

“Oh,” Either the guy didn’t care, or he was smart enough to realize that Gavin’s family was either dead or infected, because he said nothing more on the topic. Instead, after a minute of nothing, the weight of the gun pressing against his skull was removed. Gavin stayed where he was, slightly hunched over, head turned downwards, because he had been staring at his bloody shirt for the whole conversation, and he wasn’t sure how the person would react to his injury. He didn’t really want to turn around.

“You gonna show me your face or what?”

With a tense nod, Gavin relented, figuring he didn’t really have a choice, and slowly turned to face the source of the voice. 

The person that stood there wasn’t nearly as old as Gavin thought he was. He could’ve only been a year or two older than himself. The first thing Gavin noticed was his brown hair, curly enough that Gavin wondered if they were natural or made from the dirt and grime that covered the other boy. Brown eyes stared back at him, probably doing the same thing Gavin was. Before he could examine any more of him, though, he saw those eyes dart to his abdomen, and watched as they widened in surprise.

“Y-yeah, I should go,” Gavin mumbled quickly, arms wrapping around his stomach. He backed up slowly, and then tried to turn around and run. He wasn’t sure what he thought the other boy would do to him. Probably just leave him behind. But then again, the infection could easily be transmitted through those claws, and it would only make sense that he would have to be killed before he started...turning. Either way, Gavin didn’t get the chance to make it a single step before a hand snatched the back of his shirt and he was pulled back to where he had stood before.

“What the fuck, dude? You look like you’re bleeding out. No wonder you’re so pale.”

Gavin shrugged.

“Here,” The boy let his backpack fall from his shoulder. He opened the front pouch and pulled out a roll of bandages. He took a step closer to Gavin, who responded with a step backwards.

“I don’t even know your bloody name.” Gavin said, a slight growl in his voice.

“Oh - I’m Michael.” The look on Gavin’s face must have remained, because Michael added on, “I’m sixteen. And, if you want to know, the gun isn’t technically mine, I just found it.”

Gavin nodded his head. “I can patch myself up, though.”

Michael stared at him with squinted eyes, but still handed the bandages over. Gavin took them gently, walking down the alley a ways before stopping and throwing his shirt off. Before wrapping the gauze around himself, he looked down at his wound.

Four gashes stretched across his whole belly, and they seemed to still be bleeding. They were all swelling, and, if he were honest, if felt like his stomach was burning; he wasn’t sure if that was normal, because the worst type of scratch he had been given was by a cat. He tried to run his finger along one of the wounds, but as soon as his hand touched it, pain spread through his whole body, and he let out a hiss of pain. He drew his hand back, and instead started to wrap the bandages around his torso. The blood kept seeping through, and Gavin ended up using almost half of the roll that was given to him. When, finally, he decided that it was good enough, he picked up his shirt and slid back into it, ignoring the sticky blood that it was drenched in. He walked back down to where Michael had been standing, but the boy wasn’t there.

And suddenly, the fear that he had felt when he had left his brother returned. Gavin found that Michael had actually been decent company, despite putting a gun to his head. He had made sure Gavin didn’t bleed to death, after all. His heart began to race, and he called out Michael’s name in a hushed voice. 

It took a few seconds, but the boy came when he was called. He walked in from the street, almost running into Gavin, who had been about to step out of the alley. The younger couldn’t help the sigh of relief escape him when he saw Michael. He handed the roll of bandages back, and then stood there awkwardly. 

“You’re travelling alone, aren’t you?” Michael asked him, and when Gavin nodded, he added on, “Well...it would feel wrong to leave you here. Do you want to come with me? I’m planning on getting as much supplies as possible and then leaving the city.”

Gavin, who hated the past few days of being alone, quickly nodded again. It was a good plan, after all. The city seemed to be unsalvageable, but other places might be better. Michael gestured to Gavin’s bat, and as he bent down to retrieve it, he heard the older boy whisper,

“Yeah, I’m definitely going to regret this.”


	4. Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow, look what I finally updated. and wow, I've actually managed to write an even shorter chapter!
> 
> no really though, normally I'd give some dumb excuse about how busy I was, but I literally had a whole week off of school to work on this. I'm just lazy, sorry
> 
> this part is mostly boring talking stuff, so yeah.
> 
> (also I'm trying to write more in Gavin's perspective, but this chapter is more Michael)

The two walked together, only occasionally speaking to one another. It was peaceful, at least for Gavin. Even though they spared their words, it felt better to know someone had your back. He was fine with the silence, but was also more than happy when Michael attempted to start a conversation.

“You’re going to need something more than a bat, you know.”

Gavin nodded, looking at the thing disappointingly. “Yeah. My building didn’t have any axes, or else I would’ve grabbed one of those.”

“Eh, shouldn’t be too hard to find one. There is probably one in just about every other building on the block. Even a big enough knife would be better than that, though, if we can’t find anything else. A gun would be useful, but…”

“I don’t even know how to use one. It’d be pretty useless on me. Besides, you were lucky to find that. Guns aren’t just laying around everywhere.” 

“Yeah. Though technically I already knew where this shotgun was. My friend’s dad had it before, so figured it was best to see if he took it.” 

“Did he have the registrations or whatever for it?”

“‘Course. He even took us to a gun range once or twice, it was pretty cool.”

“So you do actually know how to shoot it, then, or at least a little bit.”

“I guess. Targets are nothing like people, though.”

“If you can even call them people.” Gavin huffed, suddenly changing the topic. His voice lowered as he continued. “Do you even know what happened? Cause I’m really confused and, honestly, I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

It was then that Michael realized how awful everything must be for Gavin. Although he knew nothing about what had happened before they met, he could imagine how it would feel to be only fourteen in such an apocalyptic scenario. After all, Michael was just sixteen himself, and two years wasn’t much of a difference. He shot Gavin a sympathetic look, but quickly adverted his eyes before being noticed. “Not really, just what they said on the radio and shit. A little more, I suppose, from being out here for a few days. Basically, there’s this virus or something that messes people up. You know, gets them really sick - like a whole lot worse than a fever - and then knocks them out. I’m not sure if they ever die, so I don’t know if they can be considered as...zombies or whatever. But when they wake up they’re all pretty much possessed. I don’t really know how their flesh gets so gross. I’d bet most of it, like the skin and eyes, is just the body decomposing or something like that. Not sure how some manage to lose limbs, though. Maybe shit like that happens when you aren’t aware of pain.” He paused, and then added on a lame, “So, yeah.”

“Oh.” was all Gavin said, head tilted toward the ground, bat swinging slowly by his side. They continued in silence, sometimes peeking through a broken window of a building, or hopping over a line of cars that blocked their path. Gavin tried his best to keep up with Michael, but if he went too fast, his abdomen would start hurting, a mixture of a burn and a sting. They had walked a block or two before Gavin started lagging behind. 

Michael ignored when Gavin first started to fall back, assuming that the kid got distracted by something stupid. When he didn’t pop back up by Michael’s side, however, the older boy turned around to see what had happened. He saw his companion a few meters back, clutching his stomach tightly. 

“You okay?” He called back, stopping by a fallen streetlight. He waited until Gavin had reached him, and then repeated his question. 

“I’m fine,” Gavin mumbled. When he was returned with an angry glare, he added on, “It hurts a little.”

“Well shit, man, don’t push yourself. If you need to stop, just tell me. I’ll end up accidentally leaving you behind if you don’t.” 

Gavin nodded, and then immediately sat down on the curb of the street. 

“How are the bandages? I have more, if you need them.” Michael sat down next to the boy, looking at him with concern on his face. Gavin, unaware of his staring, lifted his shirt up slightly, just enough to see the completely blood stained cloth that was wrapped around his stomach. 

“Eugh,” He groaned quietly, gingerly running a finger along the gauze. When he pulled his hand away, his finger was bright red. “It’s gotten no better. The bandages aren’t doing anything.” He let out a quiet sigh, looking dejectedly at the ground.

“Give it time, Gavin.” Michael spoke, nudging the younger boy slightly. He was given a nod in reply, and they sat there for what seemed like hours, one looking down, and the other staring at the sky. 

When the sky finally began to dim, Michael said tore his gaze away from the stars that had started to dot the sky. “Right.” He said, “We should probably find somewhere to hold up for the night. They get a little rowdy in the dark.” Upon getting no response, he looked over to his companion, and was met with a slumped figure. It was only then he heard the soft snores coming from his side, and he realized that Gavin had fallen asleep.

“You’re kidding me, right? You’re a fucking five year old.” He grumbled to himself. The older boy pushed himself up, crouched next to Gavin, and scooped him up bridal-style. “You’re lucky you weigh ten pounds, I swear to God.”

He scanned the line of buildings to his right, picking the closest one that looked habitable and heading towards it. It was a small convenience store, lined with empty and tipped shelves. The cash register was on the floor, obviously broken. Michael spotted a door behind the counter, and, guessing that it was some sort of staff lounge, carefully made his way over to it, trying not to trip on the various spilt food and empty cans that littered the floor. When he reached it, he elbowed the handle of the door until he was able to push it open. Michael was fully aware of how easily something could attack the two boys at that moment, but, luckily, the room was empty, save for a couch, refrigerator, and multiple tables and cabinets. He carefully set Gavin on the couch, making sure the younger boy wouldn’t roll off, before walking over to one of the tables and sitting in the chair set by it. He rested his head against his arms, preparing to stay up on guard for the night. However, he only lasted a few seconds before he found himself drifting off. His eyes shut, and a quiet “Goodnight, Michael,” reached his ears before he slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh  
> hello again  
> I decided to update this
> 
> don't expect much more, I probably will not get to another chapter for a few months
> 
> cause I kind of suck at things
> 
> (I literally wrote this chapter in like an hour, just to update this. you're welcome)

Gavin, as someone who normally slept in, was not a fan of being woken up by “Hey, shitbag, get up!” Nonetheless, he obliged, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stood quietly next to the couch he had slept in.

“You better thank me for carrying you to safety, Sleeping Beauty.” Michael spoke with a smirk as he slid the shotgun onto his back. Gavin blushed, muttering both an apology before grabbing his own pack and bat, both of which rested on one of the tables.

“It’s fine, but seriously, Gavin, don’t expect me to do that all the time.”

“I won’t, I promise. I just got a little dizzy and passed out, it won’t happen again.”  
Michael sent a skeptical look towards his new friend, but replied only with, “Okay, good. Let’s head out, there’s a Wal-Mart down the road that I want to stop at.”

With that, they filed out of the store and down the street. As Michael had said, there was a Wal-Mart only a few buildings down. When they reached it, they readied their weapons and opened the doors. It was only once they were inside that they noticed how large the place actually was.

“I think we’re gonna need to split up.” Michael decided after scoping it out. “You down with that?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s meet back here in, like, five minutes?” 

“Sounds good. I don’t care what you find, but, you know. Food and stuff is most important.”

“Alright, Michael, I’ll keep on a lookout for _food and stuff_.” Gavin let out a giggle as he spoke, and received only a glare before Michael headed right, turning down an aisle at random. Gavin, unsure of where to go himself, just strolled down the closest aisle.

By the spilt liquid that covered practically all of the shelves and the empty bottles that scattered the whole aisle, he assumed it used to be some sort of beverage section. All of the shelves were stripped bare, and when he reached the fridges a bit further down, all that was left in them were gallons of obviously spoiled milk. Gavin continued through to the next aisle, but came out with the same results; there was nothing left.

He didn’t find anything until he reached the “Crackers & Chips” corridor, where, miraculously, two large bags of Doritos lay on the floor. He picked them up, and, upon checking the shelves, found a few boxes of Goldfish as well. There were other miscellaneous bags and boxes which he spent a few minutes examining, but they were all smashed open and strung across the ground. Gavin decided that what he had was enough for now, assuming that Michael had also gathered the same amount of things, and headed towards the entrance to the Wal-Mart.

However, he hadn’t been able to take more than four steps before he heard a loud bang echo throughout the building, followed by a yell that he quickly identified as his friend. He froze, unsure of whether or not to go find Michael, and listened for any further sounds. He heard another scream, but when no gunshot followed it, his decision was made. Immediately, Gavin threw all of the things he had collected onto the ground and yanked the bat out of his belt loop. He navigated his way out of the aisles to the checkout area, where he climbed to the top of one of the cashier counters. From this new height advantage, he was able to spot Michael, who was on the ground near the back of the store. Gavin couldn’t see anything else, but assumed the worst, and wasted no time in jumping off of the counter and sprinting through the seemingly endless aisles, running as fast as he could without upsetting his own injury. By the time he was able to see the produce stands, he was afraid it was too late.

Luckily he was wrong, and had arrived just in time. He skidded out just a few aisles down from where Michael was, crawling away from the creature which lumbered briskly just a foot behind him. Gavin took no time to assess the situation, just readied his bat and scurried over to help his friend. With his eyes shut, he started swinging randomly, the bat flying back and forth until, with a loud thunk, it connected with the beast. Now knowing where it was, Gavin sent eight more swings into it, using all of the strength he could muster, and grunting with each hit. When he finally heard it plop to the ground, he opened his eyes to make sure it was dead, or at least immobile.

It took no time to see how awful the damage resulted on the zombie was, and Gavin could not believe he had caused it. The body was no longer whole, with one arm broken off and flung to the side. There were literal dents in the torso, and, on one hand, the fingers were obviously broken.The head was crooked, bent at an angle that would have killed anyone. And still, the creature snarled and groaned, flailing out wildly. It didn’t seem to be able to get up, though, so the boy slowly backed up and turned to face Michael. 

The older sat with wide eyes, focused on the destroyed beast. He eventually glanced towards Gavin, and, upon eye contact, excitedly shouted, “Did you just fucking do that?!” He waited for a reply, and when Gavin did nothing but stare, the older quickly jumped to his feet, suddenly worried that maybe it wasn’t as cool as he had originally thought.

“Yo, Gav, it’s fine. I’m fine. You just saved my life, dude.”

It took a few seconds, but Gavin managed to whisper, “ _I_ just fucking did that.” Michael wasn’t sure how to react, but when Gavin’s face lit up, he couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“Yeah, Michael, I just saved your life! I just beat that thing up! I did it,”

“Yeah, you did, and I would love to thank you more. But you were also screaming like crazy as you swung your bat, so I’m sure there’ll be tons more flooding in here. Go gather up my loot over there and let me find my gun.”

So Gavin did as he was told, and as he shoved Michael’s loot into his bag, he couldn’t tear the smile away from his face. In a quiet voice, he told himself, “ _Man_ , adrenaline is really something.”


End file.
